On Wings of Pain
by Teefa and Co
Summary: AU, 1st in Wings Trilogy. What if Virginia had followed her father to work, and was there for the final days of Yggdrasil? Will be JetVirginia in later stories
1. Following

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Following

Early Morning: February 26, 2190 AI

Seven year old Virginia Maxwell got up early one morning, knowing something was wrong. She was the heiress to a family of Guardian Avatars, so the girl had perception that was above the average human. It felt like something had happened to her father, but he was still sleeping at the time. Then, she figured it out, her father wouldn't be coming home again. Once he left for his job, he would never return to their little town.

"Why is he gonna leave me and my mommy?" she asked, "I thought he loved us. There's got to be a reason why he's leaving, but I can't sense it. It's up to me, I guess, I'll make sure he comes home to us tonight." With that, the girl began stuffing some clothes and special toys into her duffle bag. She would go with her Daddy to work, she'd been to that place once before when it was "Take Your Daughter to Work Day", and force him to come home. If necessary, she would stay a few days to talk sense into him. At least Virginia would know the reason why her Daddy was leaving her, she was sort of a "Daddy's Little Girl".

Eating a light breakfast, the girl waited by the door, her blue eyes never leaving the stairs. She ran her hands through her brown hair, hoping it wasn't too much of a mess. For her mother was the one who combed it every morning, since she had so much of it. Then she hoped her white blouse wasn't stained, for one of the men her dad worked with would probably start a fight over it, she remembered they didn't like one another. Virginia played a little with her purple skirt, straightening it out over and over again, to look pretty.

Finally, she saw her father come downstairs, wearing a tan coat and floppy hat. Like her, he had blue eyes and brown hair. Virginia was proud of looking like her father, she admired him so much. As long as she could remember, he was her inspiration for learning to shoot an ARM. Werner Maxwell had even brought his daughter into the yard so she could practice firing his. They would spend plenty of time together when he returned home from work, and when he had his vacations. The poor guy didn't even get weekends off, that's how overworked he got. A few times, he even stayed at his place of work for days. Not that his daughter knew what exactly he did, only that he was working very hard on something. It made Virginia a little sad, how long was he leaving for that she would get the feeling that he was never coming home again?

When Werner finished his breakfast, he left the house quietly. Virginia followed without making a sound, so he wouldn't notice her and send her back. After they'd left town, Werner pulled out his Teleport Orb, and began to concentrate. His daughter got herself caught in the field of the Orb's magic, and was taken along with him. What she saw when they reappeared after the jump, almost made her freak out.

There was a forest, a real forest. Sure she'd seen some sparse trees all around, and maybe one or two little forests in the area near Boot Hill. But this was an honest to Raftina giant forest, the ones her mom told her about in legends. And in front of them was what appeared to be a giant tree, only made out of metal and shaped by human hands. Virginia wanted to shriek, she was surprised to see something like that now.

"Another day, another tireless job. Duran better not be slouching off with his porn magazines again. And I hope Leehalt can behave for one day at least, he was in a pretty bad mood yesterday after our little meeting. I still can't believe Elliot got the go ahead with that project of his, a human being made from our Filgaian Essence. I thought the others would blow a gasket when he proposed playing God. Well, I for one think it might be good for him and Jet, after all his wife died so long ago that he was never able to give his son a younger brother or sister to play with," Werner said, more to himself than to anyone else. Virginia didn't know what it all meant. What were porn magazines anyway? And what was that about playing God?

She whispered, "Daddy, what's going on? Where are we? This isn't the place you worked at when you took me with you that one day. Did you change jobs? And why aren't you coming home?" Werner, shocked to hear her voice, turned back very quickly. There he saw his only child, tears in her eyes, standing in a small patch of flowers. She ran to him, crying at the top of her lungs, and allowed him to take her in his arms. The girl smiled as he held her body close to his. But she could also tell he wasn't happy.

Werner gave Virginia the eye. "Young lady, why did you follow me? Of course I'm coming home, but this little project I'm working on will take me about a week of constant vigilance. No one can leave while we're working on it. But once it's all over, then I'm coming right back to Boot Hill to be with you and your mother. And this place isn't the same one because we had to move our work to a much larger place. You see, we need more room to complete some experiments. Now then, let's take you right back home, your mother is going to be so worried when she finds out you're gone." But just then, Virginia wiggled free of him. She ran on ahead, trying to keep her father from catching her. Werner gave her the eye, for she'd run out of the range of his Teleport Orb. If he used it now, he wouldn't be able to bring her with him, and she'd be lost.

"I left her a note," she stated, "She knows I'm with you, and we'll be back when I can make you go home. I'm staying. I miss you when you go to work, and I really don't want to be alone anymore. The other kids are so mean to me, just because I'm not like them." For unlike most girls her age, Virginia was into ARMs rather than dolls and makeup. Sad, seven and eight year olds into makeup already. And the boys didn't play with her because she was a girl. That stuff Werner, his brother Tesla, and sister-in-law Shalte knew about, but the true reason was only known to Virginia and her mother, Ekatrina. One of the favorite games of the kids was "Heroes of the Past", where they'd play various games relating to the deaths of the "Demon Callers", known as Shamans. But there was one little problem with that, the Shamans never called a Demon. They were calling on Guardians for protection, and were blamed for what happened by the scared masses. Few escaped, and one of those was Ekatrina's ancestor. Poor Virginia didn't want to play a game where the goal was to kill her own people, so the boys thought she was just a scared little girl on the inside.

"Ok, but just for one day. Tomorrow, you're going back to Boot Hill, and I'll straighten everything out with your mother when we get there," Werner sternly told her. Virginia smiled, she would find a way to stay longer. Werner wasn't as small as she was, it would be easy to find a hiding place in a building this size.

- - - -

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Teefa's Last Words…  
  
It's the start of a trilogy, all about what would happen if Virginia was there at Yggdrasil. My new excuse for some Jet/Virginia romance, of course not in this story.  
  
Something funny happened to me today, though. Well, I was playing Final Fantasy Tactics, and one of the random thieves I fought was named Beatrice. Scarily enough, I had named my entire party after the Wild ARMs 3 cast. So Jet the Thief went and cleaved her with his knife, as Virginia the White Mage followed to protect him with her magic. Then, in a battle not too long after, I came across a Knight named Fred, you know like in Suikoden 3. And finally, when I fought with Malak (yes, that's the guy's real name, and I think it's pronounced the same too), there was a random Ninja named Benedict (similar to his last name if you want to note it). Reminds me of that time I did a Tales of Destiny parody, and one of the random Oracles was named Hugo. Then he was beating on the Ninja I'd named Rutee, just like when they kicked his butt in Belcrant. Father attacks daughter, daughter lays the smackdown for the death of her brother. You know, the Tingel family from FFT is just like the Gilchrist/Katrea family from ToD. 

The dates on top of the chapter correspond with my AI (After Immigration Ship) callender that I wrote out in order to make the flow of the story read easier. Since this only is about a week's time long, several chapters may have to take place at different times in one day. But some days might get skipped, since there is some downtime between major plot events.


	2. My New Friend

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My New Friend

Early Morning: February 26, 2190 AI

"Yo, Werner," Elliot called when his friend got into work, "You've got to see it. I've been working on the shape of the Filgaia Sample, it really looks human. This is so great, when he's born, Jet will have a new friend to play with." He was sipping a small glass of wine, which told Werner how happy he was. Usually, Elliot only drunk wine with and after dinner, unless something really good had happened. The forty year old man was practically singing, happy at his achievements. His silver hair seemed to have just been washed, and his purple eyes shone with delight. Virginia thought she'd never seen a more cheerful man in her life.

"Hi Uncle Elliot, remember me? I'm Virginia, I came with Daddy to work last year," she said. In that instant, Elliot turned around. He was shocked to see the child, the man had no idea Werner was going to bring her along. It was very dangerous around here, and the only reason Elliot had done it for years was he had no one to leave his son with. So he began to fret over what had happened to the rest of her family.

Elliot advised, "If something happened, you better not tell Leehalt. You know he'll just blame you for whatever killed the three of 'em. Then he'll say, 'I knew you'd mess up sometime Maxwell. You just weren't right for Ekatrina. I knew she'd regret not choosing me in the first place some day. Now I'll make you pay for killing the girl I loved.' And I'll have to help break up a fight again." He did an eerily on target Leehalt impersonation there.

Werner picked the child up, hoping she wasn't too confused. "No, it's not like that at all. Virginia decided to follow me to work, since she seems to know I'm going to be gone awhile. And now she won't go back home. I told her she could stay for one day. Do you think Jet could watch her while I'm working? I know your son is a responsible boy, and I don't think I can trust Melody or Malik. They're the only ones free today, and they'll just as soon fight with one another before they watch my little girl." He put her on his left shoulder, holding her there with his hand. Virginia giggled, she liked it when her father would do this to her.

"No prob Werner," Elliot replied, "Jet'll love to have someone to play with, he's so eagerly awaiting the birth of Adam Kadmon. As a matter of fact, he's in the specimen chamber right now. We'll kill two birds with one stone. You can drop your daughter off with Jet, and I can show you what I did last night."

* * *

Inside the chamber, they saw a boy of fourteen years. Like Elliot, he had silver hair and violet eyes. Unlike his father, however, he wasn't wearing a lab coat. Jet had on blue jeans and a black shirt, nothing too fancy. Virginia was shocked, he wasn't nearly as tall as either of their fathers. Must have inherited his mother's lithe frame, just like she did. In front of him was a large chamber, holding what appeared to be a formless human being. The girl figured that's what her father and Elliot had been talking about back there.

"Jet, do you remember Werner's little girl? She came here nearly a year ago and visited with us for the day. Well, she's come to visit again, and we don't have any free time to watch over her. So would you mind keeping her with you for the day?" asked Elliot. His son turned towards him, and gave him a smile. It reminded the girl greatly of the relationship between herself and her father. She knew they were very close.

Jet answered, "Sure I will. There's nothing much for me to do anyway, and she could get lost very easily if she was inside this place. Besides, I'm getting pretty bored with no one to talk too. Adam isn't formed enough to have his own will, so he can't communicate with me. But until then, I can give her a tour of the laboratory. I think she visited when you were still stationed right near Little Rock, am I correct?"

Werner nodded. "Now Virginia, be good for Jet. He's going to be taking care of you today. I don't want to hear about you getting into any trouble. I won't do anything about it, since I won't be home for the rest of the week, but you can be sure your mother will hear about whatever trouble you get into. Now I've got to get to work with your Uncle Elliot. See you on my next break kiddo." He ruffled her hair a little bit. 

Elliot got to bragging about how he'd formed their sample into a human shape in only the span of a few hours. Virginia looked at it, she couldn't believe that he was able to create a human being. But would it be sentient? Could this person actually talk back to her one day. She found herself agreeing with the boy named Jet, it seemed like a chance to finally have a real friend of her own. What would he be like? Would he be hansom? Caring? Strong? These questions went through her mind, until Jet tried to call out to her.

"Do you want me to show you around?" he asked, "I mean, this is your first time to the Yggdrasil, and it is a pretty big lab. But let's start by getting acquainted. My name is Jet Enduro, what's yours?" Even though he knew her name and she'd been told his, it was only polite to introduce himself to the girl.  


"Virginia Maxwell. And yes, I'd like to take the tour very much. Then we can tell each other all about ourselves," she stated. Virginia grabbed the older boy by the hand, pulling him until he began to walk.

She learned that Jet was indeed fourteen, he'd in fact be fifteen in September. His mother had died in childbirth, and he was sent to live with his only other blood relative. Elliot was broken up about the loss of his wife, he was working that day on an urgent project when she suddenly went into labor a month early. The doctor could do nothing for the mother, but was able to save the baby. Jet believed that was why he was on the small side, he was born premature as he called it. Virginia didn't know exactly what he meant.

The girl told him that she was seven, going to be eight this July. She lived with her mother, her aunt and uncle, and her father. They resided in the town of Boot Hill, in the family house. Her mother was a good cook, always making the best meals for them. Stopping short, she worried about offending Jet since he didn't have a mother. But he assured her that it didn't bother him, he was used to it by now. Besides, they had decided to talk about themselves, and telling about their family lives would be the best start.

She asked him, "Jet, would you be my big brother? I'm an only child, and nobody in the town wants to play with me. They all think I'm weird, cuz Daddy wants to teach me how to shoot an ARM. Nobody likes me, and they all pick on me too." Virginia started to cry, and ended up in Jet's arms, wetting his shirt.

He began to tickle her. "Sure I will. I don't have any siblings myself, and since I live at the lab I don't have any way of even trying to make friends. We'll stick together. How about you stay here a little longer than your dad decided? Then the two of us will have more time to play together." He smiled a little bit, he didn't know anything about children's games, never having anyone to play group ones with.

"That's what I want to do," she stated, "I'm staying until my Daddy decides to come home. If it will be until this project is finished, then that's how long I'm staying. He can't make me leave, he shouldn't of left me in the first place. My mommy knows where I am, I left her a note. I'll come back when Daddy does. She believes what I say, Mommy trusts me." The girl giggled a little bit. Then, the two of them continued on with the tour. She couldn't believe how big this Yggdrasil was. Virginia wondered why they needed all this space just for a few little projects. I mean, how many paintings and Play Dough sculptures could there be?

- - - -

Teefa's Last Words…

Why Paintings and Play Dough? "Projects". Remember, she's only seven at the time. If this seems weird, Well, if she was there she'd have met Elliot's son. And the brother/sister thing is what one would naturally think with a child of her age involved. I'm not a pervert, if I wanted to write something like that I would use Gallows. He'd be fourteen, well almost fourteen in the timeline I created, about at the age when guys go through early puberty. (shudders) That's a scary thought, Gallows with raging hormones. He's perverted enough when they settled down.


	3. Leehalt

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Leehalt

Noontime: February 26, 2190 AI

The two were looking for a place for Virginia to hide in so Werner wouldn't be able to find her. The plan would be to pretend to be playing Hide-and-Seek, and have Jet frantically looking for where the child had hidden. But while they were looking around the fifth floor, they ran into Leehalt Alchest. Jet turned up his nose, he personally hated the man. Leehalt disliked Werner ever since they were boys, due to the fact that Werner's calm, cool, and collected attitude helped him to beat Leehalt's constantly angry attitude when they had to compete for some sort of prize. His hatred towards the man grew even more after Werner had won the heart of the beautiful Ekatrina Roughnight, Virginia's mom, whom Leehalt also loved. Elliot and Leehalt weren't the best of friends either, most likely because Elliot and Werner did have a close friendship.

"What are you doing up here, Enduro?" he asked, angrily, "And what's with that little girl you've got with you. I didn't know your wretched father was out fooling around with other women and produced a love child several years back. Your dead mother must be so disappointed." Leehalt laughed, he loved when he struck a nerve within people he didn't like. It was harder for Elliot and Werner, both being level headed in an argument, but for Jet the nerve was his dead mother. For she had a rare illness, one that made childbirth extremely painful and difficult. Many women who had it would die when their child was born, and she was no exception. Ever since, Jet blamed himself for his mother's death, while Elliot tried to say it was because she was ill. But whenever they encountered one another, Leehalt would use that little Trump card on him.

"Don't you dare speak about my mother like that! And my father was not sleeping with anyone else a few years ago, he would never turn his back on Mom like that! I promised that I would watch over this girl and you better not try anything to bother her. Else I'll have to punch your lights out you jerk," vowed Jet.

Virginia, not aware of the past between her father and Leehalt, and not even knowing who this is so she couldn't think anything of Elliot's little speech earlier, said, "Hello, my name is Virginia Maxwell. I'm here visiting with my Daddy, but he had something to do. So Jet is taking care of me today. And who are you, sir?" She curtsied, and gave him one of her winning smiles. Not that it had any effect on Leehalt, if anything it made the scientist start to growl. She may look like her father, but she had Ekatrina's smile.

Jet could see that Leehalt was mad. He instantly forgot his rage over the scientist's words, and began trying to get Virginia to come with him somewhere else. But the girl, not wanting to be rude, stayed where she stood as Leehalt walked up to her. The scientist scowled at the child, and slapped her across the face. "You little brat! How dare you even be born! You are a symbol of the love that should have been mine! And you HAD to look just like your wretched father, and not like your beautiful and kindly mother."

Suddenly, he found himself tackled on the ground. Jet had gotten mad at Leehalt for hitting his friend, and decided to pound him to a bloody pulp. He'd been waiting for something like this to come to him for years now, ever since Elliot had enrolled him in those Tai Kwon Do classes when he was ten. The boy only didn't do something like this because he didn't want to create trouble. But if Leehalt hit him first. . .

"Don't you DARE hit her again!" he exclaimed, "She's only a little girl, there's no reason to fight with her. If you want to fight someone, fight me. I'll take you on any day of the week. This one's for Virginia. And this one is for the time you smashed Dad's favorite wine right in front of him. And this one's for the time you tried to blow apart Uncle Werner's whole room by knocking over practically everything in a fit of anger."

He continued to smack the man for a few minutes, until he heard shouts. Then, in came Werner and Elliot, who'd heard the commotion. They saw Virginia crying, rubbing the red spot on her cheek. Then they saw an extremely angry Jet wrestling with their irate comrade. At once, they knew Leehalt had started something. Jet never picked fights, he'd even said he hoped Leehalt would start so he'd have a reason to give him what he so richly deserved. Werner chuckled a little, if he wasn't so peaceful he'd do that as well.

"Daddy. . .the mean man smacked me for something I don't even understand. Something to do with your love for Mommy, and that I look like you. Jet just started beating him up when he was bothering me, so don't blame him for anything," begged Virginia, giving both men her puppy dog eyes. Leehalt began to make gagging sounds, anything so cutsy like that disturbed him. Werner always knew the man was nuts.

Elliot told the girl, "It's ok, we know what a jerk Leehalt is. Jet's not going to get in any trouble for this, and neither will you. Hey, Leehalt, would you kindly keep our children out of your little vendetta, I know you like to tease Jet on the side. Especially keep his mother out of this, you know how much it upsets him. I can't believe how rude and insensitive you are. There are some topics you just don't touch, and a dead or sickly family member isn't one of them." He pulled his son of the man, and began to hold the boy close.

Leehalt scoffed. "Well, that little brat looked at me with Ekatrina's smile, and that made me mad. I never want to see that child of yours again Werner, you just keep her out of my way. If she is away from me, then I won't bother her." He turned around, and headed back for the research room to finish his work.

"Daddy, what's with him?" asked Virginia, "What's wrong with smiling like Mommy? I won't do it again if it's bad, am I not s'posed to copy someone else's smile?" She looked at her father with all her innocence. Werner ruffled his daughter's hair, she certainly had a sweet attitude. Just like her mother.

"Well, you see, you know how Daddy loves Mommy with all his heart? Well, Leehalt also was in love with Mommy. But Mommy wanted Daddy instead. So mean old Leehalt just goes around and tries to make my life miserable, as well as that of Uncle Elliot, since we're close friends. Just stay out of his way, he can be a very mean and miserable person himself if provoked," Werner warned the child. He then took the Teleport Orb out of his pocket, and shook it a little bit. For some reason, it became a little charged with energy whenever near Yggdrasil's generators. Since that's where Werner was coming from, he had to shake it in order to get the charge out. Else the orb wouldn't work properly. But when he shook it, nothing happened. The excess charge stayed, and if it was used it might send them to the wrong place.

Elliot said, "That doesn't look good Werner. If you use it in this current state, then you might end up teleporting to the middle of the Outer Sea, and become food for the Harpies. I wouldn't want to trust this thing with my son's well being, so maybe we should have it looked at before you bring Virginia home today."

Virginia looked at Jet, and gave him a smile. 'Maybe it still won't work properly, and I can stay with my Daddy at the lab. This is the greatest peace of good fortune to ever hit me. Chapananga be blessed."

- - - -

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Teefa's Last Words…

Why did I write a whole scene with Leehalt? Well, I thought it would be a good introduction for the whole situation in the third part of the story. I wanted to have Leehalt's excessive anger over Virginia in the third story be given some base in the first. Since he hated her simply for being born, what a jerk. Only thinks of himself. If someone I loved was in love with another, I'd leave them and let them be happy in order to show my love. And if it was either my life or the lives of the whole planet, I wouldn't be afraid to die.


	4. Rivalry & Arguments

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Rivalry and Arguments

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Mid-Afternoon: February 26, 2190 AI

The verdict was in: the Teleport Orb would need some extensive work done on it to relieve what had taken it over. Virginia would have to stay at the lab with her dad until that happened. Lucky for her, she did want to make sure he came home again. Until that time, she would stay with Jet and hang out. He didn't mind that his friend was not even eight, at least she liked to be around him. Besides, someone needed to make sure Leehalt didn't go on another tirade around her, he had no tact when it came to young children.

"I still can't believe you're going to be making a human from this tube," Virginia stated, "It looks like it's almost done." They were in the specimen chamber, looking at the Filgaia Sample later on that afternoon. The girl could sense the extraordinary powers coming from the boy inside, even though he didn't even have a definite physical form. He was shaped like a human being, but his eyes were closed, he was hairless, and he had no definite physical features. It appeared as if something was missing, but she didn't know what.

"I don't know why he can't be completed now, something else seems to be needed. But Dad and Uncle Werner don't tell me about these things, they don't want me to get all upset over their research. I was told that when he's completed, Adam will be like my brother or friend. Since I am the only kid in this lab. They've set his physical age upon completion to be fifteen, and with these generators Dad says it will only take about six months. I'll be fifteen then, and the two of us will be best friends. You can hang with us too, we'll both be your older brothers, and you can be our cute, adorable little sister," stated Jet, thinking about the future. Maybe if this turned into a good experience for Virginia she would come to visit them more often. The only reason they didn't live here was that Werner didn't want to have his wife and child see the way Leehalt behaved around him, and how he could behave around the irate scientist when provoked.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of breaking glass. Virginia ran to investigate it, with Jet trying to warn her not to run off on her own. When she looked into a room, she saw what appeared to be two of the council members fighting. One was a man with short blond hair, bright blue eyes, and a youthful face that seemed to be about twenty eight. The second was a beautiful, if you liked that type, woman with purple hair worn mannishly short, and blue eyes. It was the woman who appeared to be the instigator, as she threw yet another bottle of expensive wine at the man. Then, he picked up some more wine and tossed it at her.

She yelled, "How dare you say I'm not beautiful, Malik? You're the weird one, obsessed with finding a way to bring the dead back to life. I swear, with all those contour drawings of naked women in your room, you're more perverted than Duran, if that's even possible. What, you trying to find a date with some woman who'll be put together perfectly or something to that extent?" She tossed some more wine in his direction.

The man dodged. "You have it all wrong Melody. I only want to bring my poor dead mother back to life. What child wouldn't want to do that for his or her parent, especially when they died while shielding their child from the blows of an abusive stepparent. My mother died selflessly, it's only fair that I bring her back to life in return. All of those drawings are to get my mother's body just perfect, then it'll be like it used to be, just her and me. Show some respect to my high and lofty ideals." He tossed a beaker full of liquid at her.

"Not again," muttered Jet, "Those two are always at it. Virginia, we should make a hasty retreat, I don't want something bad to happen to you. Malik and Melody are known for taking their wrath out on other people when they get angry enough, and if someone else tries to break up the fight. Once my dad got a black eye from trying to forcefully pull Malik off of Melody when they were arguing. How about we go for a walk or something, you know, keep away from this little argument?" He saw her nod her head in agreement. Any type of argument scared Virginia, she didn't like fighting. That's why she always avoided the other kids.

"Well, well, well, what have we here? Looks like little Jet has got a girlfriend," teased Malik, upon looking around for more ammo after Melody had thrown a fifth of Jack Daniels at him. Virginia, a little tense after watching them fight, turned around and tried to hide her eyes. But Malik didn't hurt her at all, he was even more interested in the girl than in his fight with Melody. Heck, even Melody had decided to stop her tirade and come to see what was going on. Jet's glare seemed to further tell them to be decent in front of the child. So after a few moments of nothing but silence, Virginia turned around to face the two scientists.

She told them, "My name is Virginia Maxwell, I came here for a visit with my Daddy. But his item for transporting us got broken, so he has to wait until it gets fixed to send me home again. And who might you two be?" The girl again curtsied, deciding to win them both over with her sweet attitude. It worked to calm down most people back home, and the only time it didn't at least make them not bother her was when she'd used it on Leehalt. But you all know that he's not one for anything to do with the love her parents had.

Melody took a closer look. "So, Werner's little girl? You look like your father a lot. I remember the day he met your mother, mostly because it took Leehalt's wrath away from me." Virginia got it this time, Jet had informed her that Leehalt loved picking fights in general, and fighting with both their fathers in particular. The girl sized up Melody, she looked a little bit frazzled about something. Since she'd been in the fight with Malik, something over her beauty, the child figured that it must have been the reason.

"Hello there little girl," Malik said, "You're just about the age I was when I last saw my mother. Those were the days, I was actually loved, not stuck in a room full of crazies and nuts all day trying to get by and find a way to save my mother's life." The look that Melody gave seemed to say something to the extent of, "Crazies and nuts, you're the biggest one of them all." But the jury was still out on that one, after all everyone on the council was at least a little loopy. Well, at least Malik, Melody, Leehalt, and Duran.

Jet looked at them, and then at Virginia. "Well, we should get going now. Carry on your business, I don't want to interfere. See you guys tomorrow, we've still got to finish looking around and meeting other people." He'd promised Virginia he'd introduce her to everyone, and this was mostly everyone. So the two youths left the room, Virginia stopping only to wave goodbye. Malik and Melody were left all alone again.

"So," Melody started, "Where were we? Oh yes, I remember now. Take that! Never insult my pretty face ever again, Malik Bendict!" She tossed the first bottle of beer she grabbed at him. Malik, who was thoroughly insulted by this one, grabbed a beaker full of hot water and tossed it onto Melody. Not only was she hurt by the glass, but the water was painful. So she grabbed another beaker with burning water and tossed it at Malik. This went on for some time, until poor Pete Inkapilia discovered it and had to clean.  


- - - -

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Teefa's Last Words…

I know I did that gag in "Matchmaker Mayheim". Well, I'm recycling. Besides, I only said it happened, never described the fight. And I had to have her meet everyone on the council first. Gonna finish that up next chapter , we'll meet Duran and Pete. 


	5. More Introductions

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More Introductions

Late Evening: February 26, 2190 AI

Jet was starting to get nervous as he stood outside the door of Duran Bryant later that evening. It was late enough, everyone was done with their work, but the man had been too busy to speak with all day. So the two had to wait until he was back in his own room, but that wasn't the best time to meet with the odd talking scientist. For Duran had, ummmm. . .let's just say some pretty dirty obsessions lying around there.

"Duran," he called, "Can I come in? I've got someone here who wants to meet you." He'd already warned Virginia that the man was a little odd, he had an obsession with finding the perfect woman, and one attempt to look into the girl who Werner and Leehalt both had crushes on led to him being knocked across the room by Leehalt, who already had Werner to contend with as a rival. Heck, he was desperate enough to go out with Melody for an entire week. And now, all this isolation and the lack of female companionship was taking its toll on Duran, he had subscriptions to every porno magazine ever written that were being sent to the Leyline Observatory - - he was too lazy to change the mailing address and besides, no one comes close to Yggdrasil to send the mail there. Also, now he supposedly had an imaginary girlfriend named Beatrice.

Duran came to the door. At 39, he was the third oldest member, only Pete and Elliot were older. A lean man with black hair and blue eyes, he was wearing his denim colored shorts and a white shirt. In his hands, not surprisingly, was a copy of the latest issue of "Sexy Drifters", a magazine that gave jobs to girls who were in that particular trade. The person on the cover now was a woman named Caroline, who was said to travel around to support her daughter Corrie, who was about Virginia's age. Jet rolled his eyes, didn't that man have anything resembling common sense? He didn't know who exactly was coming to the door too.

"Vell, vat have ve here? Iz zhe a friend of yourz, Jet?" asked Duran. He quickly hid his porno, since the girl was very underage. Heck, Jet shouldn't even be looking at that stuff either, but he tended to forget all about those things. It had caused a fight between himself and Elliot once, about the things that Duran had exposed his son to. That had to be about five years ago, when Duran babysat for Jet when the other six had to go on a certain day trip, and Jet had requested something to read. Duran read him an article from his magazine, one all about some really slutty women who were trying their hand at acting on stage, topless.

Virginia replied, "Hello, my name is Virginia Maxwell, and I've come here with my father for the day. But his Teleport Orb is broken, so he has to fix it before he can take me back to my Mommy." The girl gave the older man a smile, and was wondering what he was hiding. She'd seen him throw the book behind his back, but why would he want to hide a story from a child? Was it a scary story? She could take them on.

Duran looked closely, seeing how much she resembled her father. "Of courze it vould not vork, ze energy from Yggdrazil iz getting even ztronger. Ve need to increaze it a little in order to finizh ze experiment on time. You may be ztuck until zey are done." Jet glared a little, he may make her cry by saying she had to stay away from her mother for so long. But Virginia was a little trooper, she wasn't going to cry about it.

"It's ok, as long as my Daddy comes home with me," she stated, "That's why I came in the first place, I worried Daddy was going to leave and never come back. Sometimes, he's gone for days at a time and my mommy and I miss him. I don't want her to suffer any more, Mommy isn't feeling her best lately."

"Zuch a cute little girl. I vish I could find a woman with zuch good qualities. Oh vell, Beatrice isn't half bad. I can't vait until zhe comez to zee me again," Duran said, hearts in his eyes. Jet then rolled his, this was starting to get disturbing. Duran was officially off his rocker, if he thought some imaginary girl can be his lover. But since Duran was a little bit of a playboy, and living this isolated life, he wasn't surprised.

* * *

Virginia inquired, "Jet, who is Beatrice? Is she Uncle Duran's wife? Do they only see each other when she can get time to come to Yggdrasil to visit him? And what was with that book he threw into his room, why did he hide it?" She certainly was a very inquisitive girl, always wanting to know about things.

Jet gathered himself, this was one long explanation. "Beatrice isn't even a real person, Uncle Duran is just a little bit lonely so he made up a girlfriend for himself. He says he sees her at night, mostly in his dreams, but sometimes when he's awake as well. As for the book, well it's not really for a child's eyes. I am not even allowed to look at it. Duran is just way too lonely, if he needs to use those things to entertain."

"But what are 'those things'?" she asked, "I don't understand what is going on here. If he's reading a book, how can there be bad stuff in there? Mommy always said that books are a great treasure, I love to read in my free time." She gave Jet a look that made all her questions seem that much more puzzling. It was another one of her talents, the confused look that made other people give her a really plain explanation.

"Simple, the book has pictures that children shouldn't see. It's all about men and women when they are all grown up. You'll understand in a few years," a male voice behind them stated. When the two looked around, there stood a man of about forty one years, with dark brown hair and black eyes framed with small glasses. His name was Pete Inkapilia, and he was the final scientist on of the Council of Seven.

Virginia said, "Oh, it's pictures of naked girls. I was told by my mommy that you're not supposed to see a man without his clothes on until you're married, after I accidentally saw Daddy getting changed once. I didn't know that people liked to look at things like this." Jet's jaw hit the floor, he'd never seen a naked girl before, Duran had only read him the article, not shown any pictures. And the only person who'd ever walked in on someone else here was Malik, who walked in on Melody last month on accident, causing one of their infamous arguments to break out. But through it all, this young girl sounded completely innocent of all that.

Pete looked at her, and chuckled a little bit. "So, you're Werner's little girl. Elliot said you were here today, and Jet was taking care of you. You know, you look a lot like your father. Now, remember to be careful in this lab, there are some very dangerous experiments going on, and Werner will be really sad and cry if you get caught up in one. And Jet, don't try to encourage her to step out of line. I know you never do something against your father's wishes, but I don't want the fact that you're with someone to change it."

He walked away, confusing Virginia all the more. Jet explained that Pete was the serious type, a man who always put his work first. So he was often worrying about things going wrong. The boy also said that he was a Baskar, and this mission had a special meaning to him. For the Council of Seven would bring back the Filgaia they only knew in their racial memories. Virginia was excited, the memories of her own people were going to be coming to pass once more. Finally, it would be more like the Filgaia of the times before the Demon War. The girl was so happy, that she skipped all the way back to her father's quarters.

- - - -

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Teefa's Last Words…

Teefa, master of foreshadowing. That's what Sky called me. Sarcastically, but it does sound like a cool nickname.


	6. Tragedy

****

Tragedy

Early Morning: February 27, 2190 AI

"Hey, Werner, can I talk to you for a moment?" asked Elliot, "I really need some advice, and some help finishing turning the Filgaia Sample into a human." He had just come over to Werner's quarters early that morning, with Jet in tow to watch over Virginia. There was a sense of regret in his voice, as if one of the many problems they were trying to avoid had come to pass. Jet was just worried his friend would never live.

"Sure you can, I'll do anything to help. Let's just go into the other room, so we can talk in private. Jet, you and Virginia stay here. Eat your cereal young lady, your mother will have a fit if you start skipping your meals. And no spying on us," warned Werner. Then, they went into the other room, closing the door.

Jet whispered, "I'm gonna go see what they're talking about. I've already eaten my breakfast, and they said nothing about me not spying. Only you. So I'll spy and tell you what's going on with our fathers." Jet then walked over to the door, putting his ear to it. He instantly heard his father voicing a complicated problem that had just come up with the project. Adam wasn't forming completely, because they didn't have any human DNA inside of him. If he didn't have any features, he could not be formed. For without DNA, he wouldn't have an eye color, a hair color, heck even hair itself, and even his own body wouldn't gain a shape. The shape they had now was basic, but with DNA he would gain a genuine body type like small or husky.

Jet looked to Virginia, and told her what was going on. "I've got to make sure he's born, else I won't have a friend my own age and you won't have your second big brother. I can give the necessary DNA for the project. Then, it'll almost be like he was my twin brother instead of just my friend. That'll be real cool. I want to go right away, that way I can surprise my dad when he comes in after talking with Uncle Werner." The boy then left the room, with Virginia right behind. But not before she cleaned up her breakfast dishes.

Meanwhile, in the other room, Werner and Elliot were unaware of the trouble the two children were about to get into. They were still talking about the possible ways to find a donor for the project. Elliot had no intention of using one of the seven for this, imagine a clone of Leehalt running around. That would bring nightmares to little kids, if there was a teenager that acted like the vindictive and angry scientist on a daily basis. Poor Jet would just end up friendless again, and the two boys would be fighting over every little thing.

"Well, why can't we just use some random kid?" asked Werner, "I could ask someone from Boot Hill if they want to help out a very important project. Or, if you'd prefer, I can always go to one of the other towns with the Teleport Orb once it's fixed, then you won't have to think about him meeting his double if for some reason he has to come and stay the week at my place. That should sure solve your little problem."

"That wouldn't work, we can't just take someone random. I'd prefer someone over eighteen, a man, since we already named him 'Adam Kadmon', and someone with nothing left to lose with no living relatives. Because this is a very dangerous process, the transfer of DNA, even if done properly the person might end up dying of a heart attack due to the extreme stress your body is put through," Elliot informed Werner.

* * *

In the specimen chamber, Jet was hooking himself up to the wires that connected to the tube. As Virginia looked on, she saw her friend push the button that would begin the DNA transfer. Luckily, the girl had no fear of blood, for a small sample of it would be pulled out of Jet's body in order to give genes to their new friend. She never took her eyes off him, he really was determined to make all three of them very happy.

But suddenly, something went wrong. Jet began to feel strange, he was having trouble breathing. The boy fell to the ground, clutching his heart and trying to let out screams of agony. But since he couldn't breath, he wasn't able to get any out. Virginia ran for him, she wanted to try and save him by giving him the artificial respiration her mother had taught her. Jet held up his hand, telling her to stay back. For there was an electric current running through him, and if she touched it she might just be electrocuted by the energy.

She told him, "Don't worry, I'll go get my father and yours. They'll help you out, I'm sure of it. I'm a really fast runner, always wins when I'm racing away from town bullies." With that, she took off for the room her father lived in. There, she found Werner and Elliot still talking. But they didn't scold her for busting in on their private conversation. For Werner could see there was genuine fear in her eyes, something was wrong.

"It's Jet, he's in the specimen chamber. He's trying to bring Adam to life, but something is going wrong, he's in pain. I don't know what to do, please help him." Her eyes were wild, she was really worried about her friend. Werner and Elliot knew what had happened instantly, the boy had spied on them, realized what had to be done, and missed the part about the risks involved. He was going to fry if the two couldn't get to him and take him out of there. So they ran back to the chamber, with a crying Virginia close behind.

* * *

When they arrived, they saw the energy was just beginning to die down. The DNA was starting to take effect, it appeared as if a mist was shrouding the Filgaia Sample, giving him a new form. Jet was just lying on the ground, breathing heavily. He looked like he was in pain, but couldn't do anything about it.

"Dad," he gasped, "I don't know what went wrong. I just, felt the pain from the inside, the second I turned on the machine. Don't worry about me, at least your project is going to succeed. And Virginia, I want you to take care of Adam from now on, I'm not going to make it. Don't blame yourself for this, you did all you could. I was the one who foolishly rushed into this, without knowing there would be risks. I guess I should have waited for Dad to tell me how to work it properly, must have used too much energy." With that, his eyes closed, and his head rolled to one side. Virginia tried to give him artificial respiration, but it didn't seem to be working. Elliot tried shocking the boy back to life with a defibrillator, but he didn't respond. The man then began to cry. He picked his dead son up, and just held him like that, questioning the whole world.

"Leave him alone for now. He needs time to cope with this. If only Jet had listened to the whole conversation, he would have known there would be risks involved," Werner lamented, tears staining his eyes as well. For years he'd cared for Jet as if he was his own son, since he only had one child. It worked out well, if one of them had to work the other would take care of Jet. Werner loved the young boy almost as much as his own father, it really hurt him to see him lying in Elliot's arms, never to move ever again.

Virginia's eyes were even more teared than her father's. She ran back to the room, and began to cry on her pillow. By the time Werner got back there, he found he didn't have the heart to yell at her for not listening to him. The two of them were just to grieved at this tragedy, and they sat there. Then, Virginia fell into her father's arms, and he held her close. Together, they spent the day washing away their sorrows.

- - - -

****

Teefa's Last Words…

I'm crying my eyes out. That was such a sad chapter. But I couldn't leave it out, it is one of the most important parts of the entire story. I just notice, that both Jet and Virginia never refer to him as "Filgaia Sample", or anything like that. They just call him Adam. That's cuz of how they think of him as their friend. Shows it, kids are more accepting than adults.


	7. Standing Up

****

Standing Up

Afternoon: February 27, 2190 AI

Virginia was crying all morning, burying her head in her father's lab coat. But when Werner had to go to work, he reluctantly let the child go. She understood, he had to continue onwards. So the girl went back to the place where Jet had met his end. Looking up at the capsule that held Adam's body, she could see his features were beginning to form, looking much like her friend's. 'I will make sure your death won't be in vain, Jet. I'll protect Adam, and I'll be his friend too. That way, he won't be lonely. All you ever wanted was a friend, and at least you had me in your final hours. May you rest in peace now, my older brother.'

"Well, well," a gruff male voice from behind her said, "What have we here? Werner's brat sitting in this chamber all alone. What happened to the Enduro boy, ran off and left you like everyone else?" There was no doubt in her mind that Leehalt was the one who owned that voice, only he could be so rotten to the girl like that. She turned around, confirming her hunch. The smirk on his face told her that he already had heard about the tragedy, and was just trying to make her mad. It seemed to be working, Virginia felt her anger and rage rise. How dare this man make fun of the death of another human being, especially the son of one of his coworkers? If Virginia wasn't a calm girl most of the time, she probably would have hit him.

"Leave me alone. You know very well that Jet isn't here anymore, and I need time to think about things. This place is the quietest in the whole building, and I want to just sit here for awhile," Virginia told Leehalt. She still had red in her eyes, from all her crying, but was trying her best to hold her rage in check.

Leehalt replied, "Of course I know what happened, Elliot came into the central lab bawling like a two year old. One of the most enjoyable sights I've ever beheld, after all both of them did to me. Now, if only you would just drop dead too, then my revenge against Werner would be complete without me even lifting a finger. I'm sure there's a few more experiments we can use your DNA for, just enough to kill you like this little project of Elliot's killed Jet. Maybe now they'll listen to me and destroy the creature before it's born."

Virginia felt her rage explode, how dare he talk about her, her father, Jet, Elliot, and Adam like that! Now he would pay, and pay dearly. So she rammed into him, knocking Leehalt off balance, and to the cold hard floor below. "You've got no right to say that! No matter how he is born, or what the circumstances are involved in his creation, Adam is a life. And life is sacred to the Guardians. If you killed another being with no traces of evil inside of it, who was never doing any harm intentionally, you will be cursed for the rest of your own life. I will protect him with my own life, if needed be, he deserves a chance to live and experience the joys of living like we all have." She put her self in front of the cylinder, making a wall to protect Adam.

"Foolish sentiment," Leehalt stated, "Just like that of the Baskars. Since when was Werner from that colony? I know Ekatrina, may her beauty never fade, came from Little Rock. So how in the heck did you learn to be such a sappy little brat with all of those stupid ideals about living things being sacred?"  


"My mommy isn't from Baskar, but she has a big heart! She'd never turn any person away, even if they were not human. As long as it wouldn't harm herself or the rest of her family, she'd be willing to take in any person stuck in the rain, lost, or alone, and give them a place they could call home!" the girl yelled at the irate scientist. Her face shone with pure rage, there was no way in hell she'd let any harm come to him.

At that moment, Leehalt felt a large hand on his back. He turned to see both Werner and Elliot, who were most likely looking for Virginia, and they didn't look too happy. Werner threatened, "If I ever catch you picking on my daughter again, there's going to be a few bullet holes decorating your shoulder. You know I'm not the violent type, but my daughter means more to me than life itself, I would never let anyone try to hurt her either physically or mentally. And Elliot will back me up, you know that. Besides, everyone else will hear of this, and they won't be happy if they hear you're spending your free time picking on a little girl."

Now Leehalt was a realist enough to know that the odds were against him. Both men had some skill in firing ARMs, Werner's Duel Pistols and Elliot's submachine gun. And he also had a child who was pretty demanding when she was angry, and quite strong for a little girl. So he slinked away, vowing to go and finish this little conversation up later. Leehalt returned to the laboratory to work, scowling as he left. Werner gave him a scowl back, and tried to shield Virginia from him, in case he turned around suddenly.

Virginia looked at her father and Elliot, her eyes big and round, giving them the puppy dog face. "Are you gonna hurt Adam? Please, Jet wouldn't want you to do that, he gave his life in order to bring this boy into the world. I don't want to be friendless once again, so please don't kill him." She was quite good at begging, able to get away with so many things by making that face. It won over many a person before that, including some of the local bullies that were picking on her. They avoided her, but they weren't teasing her.

"Of course we wouldn't hurt him," Elliot replied, "I owe it to Jet, to make sure that he survives. Now, since I've lost my own son, I guess he can be my kid. I'd be honored if such a cute little girl as yourself will befriend him." This made Virginia giggle, she always loved it when adults would call her 'a cute little girl'.

"Virginia, I want you to come with me. We're having a funeral for Jet, and I know he'd want you to be there. You made him so happy on his last day alive, he had someone to protect as a sister, and he wasn't all alone. Dying with the knowledge that you cared enough to try to get help to save him, that must have made him feel like he was loved by someone besides those who took care of him. And the fact that you won't abandon Adam even though Jet died to create him, that shows true heart," Werner told her.

* * *

The only person missing from the procession was Leehalt, having no desire to go and pay his last respects to the boy. Not that it bothered Elliot or Werner, they didn't want him causing trouble anyway, and were hoping he'd just skip it. Though they did have to make Duran put down the copy of "Topless Women Monthly", with its annual issue of the ten hottest bar maids wearing no bras and sexy underwear. It wasn't an appropriate piece of reading material for a funeral, nor something to put on the grave of an innocent boy.

Over Jet's casket, Virginia whispered, "It'll be alright, I'll take good care of Adam. He'll never be alone in the world, I'll make sure he knows that I'm his friend. Your father doesn't hold it against him, he will treat the boy as his own child. But through all this, I'll never forget the boy who was my first ever real friend."

She began to silently chant a prayer to the Guardian of Death, Ge Ramtos, in order to guard the boy's soul on his journey to the afterlife. Then, with a last look at the casket, it was interred in the ground outside of Yggdrasil, in a patch of beautiful flowers that Jet had loved ever since they had come to the place.

- - - -

****

Teefa's Last Words…

Yup, typical Leehalt, he's got no heart in him. He's always been a real jerk, I mean, he blamed Werner because the girl he liked was in love with Werner instead. Well, if he truly loved her, he would let her decide what she wanted and be happy.


	8. Passing of Time

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Passing of Time

Afternoon-Early Evening: March 1, 2190 AI

Two days later, Virginia was starting to feel more like her old self. She was trying to find new ways to keep busy, since there was again no one to play with. Most of the time one might find her back in the specimen chamber, talking with Adam, although he couldn't talk back to her. It was just a comfort to share her feelings with him, to spend time with him. One day, he would wake up, and then they would really talk.

Adam looked more like Jet every day, his hair was growing in silver, and his body was filling out to be a short but somewhat stocky form. His chest was beginning to look like he had six pack abs, and they weren't small either. It was enough to make any rabid teenage flirt fall in love right on the spot. Not that it would effect Virginia, she was only seven after all. But it did make her feel as if her friend would be there for her soon. Although her father and Elliot had both said it would be at least six months, maybe several years.

The years part had come quite suddenly, Elliot and Werner had begun to think about the seven year age difference between both of them. It might not be as fun if they were so far apart in age, even though she had gotten along well enough with Jet. The fourth of March had been set for a very important discussion on Yggdrasil, they would bring up the issue then. Maybe, by restricting the energy flow to the capsule or by using the less powerful instruments at Leyline Observatory, they could make it so he would be born when the girl was around thirteen years old. Then, they'd only have two years in between their physical ages.

Virginia was sitting in the chamber that morning, bouncing a little ball she kept in her pocket. It would fall to the ground, go back up in the air, and then she'd catch it and start again. "And that's what my daddy and Uncle Elliot are thinking of. I know you must be eager to be born, but please be patient. I know they are doing it in our best interests, they want the both of us to be happy. After all, why would you want a little kid to be the one hanging around you every day? I wouldn't mind waiting, you'd still become my friend."

"Thinking about it again?" asked Elliot, who had come in to check on the sample, "You're a really sweet girl, Virginia. I can see why my son wanted to be your friend, and was protecting you from Leehalt the other day. Hey, do you know if your father brought wine in with him when he arrived? I'm all out of my stash, and I know he doesn't drink. But he does buy me some once in awhile, and he's the only one with the Teleport Orb. So he's the one who goes to buy the wine if we run out. Now that it's broken, we can't go to the store. I'm in serious need of a drink." For Elliot had begun to drink very heavily after Jet died, and was now dry after two days of constant drinking. Ok, more like one and a half, he wasn't insensitive enough to go to his own son's funeral punch drunk, he owed that much to Jet. Virginia shook her head to tell him she didn't know if her father had any. Elliot sighed, this would be a long rest of the week without his drinks.

"Don't worry, when Daddy's Teleport Orb is all better, I'm sure he'll buy you some wine to make you feel better. I wish there was something I could do, but I don't have the ability to teleport anywhere," she told him. In fact, the ability to teleport had been lost a thousand years ago, once the Shaman's had been routed until they were nearly an extinct tribe. The survivors created Teleport and Exodus Orbs, because they felt they had to change their Crest Board setup in order to survive in a world where they were unwelcomed. So they left behind the way they'd designed boards in the past, with one for attack spells and one for defensive spells, and combined them into one board. Many of the spells they didn't use much were forgotten about, and teleportation was, as I said before, placed into orbs. They'd thought to keep that power, but maximize the magic they could use in their changed boards. By hiding extras, even non-Shamans could travel from place to place instantly. But no one had ever thought that something like this would ever happen to anyone.

Elliot continued to check around, and eventually left. Virginia took out her lunch, and began to eat the sandwich her father had made for her. Mmmmmmmmmmm. . .peanut butter and strawberry jelly, the favorite of many young children. The girl looked towards the specimen chamber, and did a double take. It appeared as if Adam had opened his violet eyes to look upon her. But when she turned again, they were closed. Virginia thought it was just a figment of her imagination, after all, she was impatient for his birth.

* * *

That evening, after dinner, Leehalt came storming into the room, looking for Werner. Virginia, who was still a little wary of the man after what happened two days ago, ran into the sleeping chamber. Werner came out to meet him, and asked, "What do you want now Leehalt? The last time you visited me in my own quarters, you wanted me to duel you outside of the lab, hoping to beat me and humiliate me in front of Ekatrina, because you'd sent a fake note typed on laboratory stationary to say I wanted her to visit me at the lab on my brake time. I know you all too well, this isn't just a pleasure visit you've come to give me."

Leehalt looked at Werner. "For once, I have no intention of harming you. But I want you to think about what we're getting into by releasing such a creature into the world. What if he's too unstable, if we are unable to control him? Will he go on an insane killing rampage? After all, you and Elliot, in your infinite wisdom, are bestowing him with an ARM, one created from the very Guardian Blade that legends say was able to ravage the planet when it was invoked in the wrong way. Imagine what he can do with that power."

"I'm not listening to you, Leehalt," Werner stated, "Adam is a life, and thus he must be preserved. Now I've got to straighten up around here, and get Virginia to take a bath. So I would like you to leave me alone, we can discuss this later on, when I'm not such a busy man." Before Leehalt could argue, Werner pushed him out of the room, with just enough force to move but not hurt him, and locked the door behind.

"Daddy, I don't think he's going to give up, he won't leave us alone. Why is he so mean to you, is it only because you were the one that Mommy was in love with?" asked Virginia as she re-entered the room.

Werner told her, "Leehalt's always been bitter, he and I grew up together. We were the only boys in our age range in the whole town, everyone else was about two or three years older than Leehalt or younger than me. Since one year apart was the closest either of us could get, we were practically forced to hang out with each other. Our younger brothers were also good friends, being the same age and all. But Leehalt was completely spoiled, his father thought he could do no wrong. So he got whatever he wanted, and got away with most everything. That was why he always hated me, I got the better of him on many occasions, and he wanted to come out on top. Now that's it for stories about him, they'd all be too long to tell you."

The little girl nodded, and headed for the bathroom. There, she soaked herself in the hot bathtub, letting the water warm up her skin. Meanwhile, her father was sitting in the living room area, listening to Leehalt's annoying banging on the door. Eventually, the irate man gave up, and returned to his own room.

- - - -

****

Teefa's Last Words…

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, more of Leehalt being a jerk. It's such a true characterization. The drinking thing coincides with what I've said in other stories - - most notably "The Awakening" - - where Elliot was sloshed at work after he lost his son. But since they've got no way to get Virginia home, there's also no way to go to a store besides walking through Nidhogg Pass and subtracting days off their project's finish date.


	9. Day of Trouble

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Day of Trouble

All Day: March 3, 2190 AI

Virginia was sitting in the specimen chamber again, leaning up against the wall next to the tank, when she heard Elliot let out an ear piercing scream. He came in, looking disheveled, along with Malik and Pete. For some reason, he was also not quite happy with the second man. It became clear not too long after that what the problem was. "I can't believe you lost it! We need those documents in order to complete the energy transfer. Without the information, we're going to have to leave him in a state of perpetual growth, without any way to stop it. Then, his body will most likely explode, due to the vast amounts of energy that built up inside. And I'm not going to have it, your mistake is not going to cost my son his life right now."  


"What's the big deal?" asked Malik, "You take this project way too seriously. I'd say, if we could figure out exactly what we did, we might find a way to resurrect the dead. And for that, we wouldn't need a sample of DNA, nor would we have a person who looks like your loved one without his or her memories. We should simply research this creation of ours, not bring it into the world so you can play house. Think of the possibilities for our technology, we could bring such joy to the lives of the people by saving their loved ones."

"I will not let you kill Adam so you can have your perverse pleasures! He is my son, and I love him. If you want to do that, create your own sample on the side. If I have to, I'll fight to defend him with my life," Elliot vowed. Virginia watched him, thinking about how the last few days had changed Elliot. He was no longer depressed, he'd found a strength inside of him that he'd never known about. It all came from the fact that Leehalt wanted the boy dead, Malik wanted the boy dissected for further study, and Melody was being her usual indifferent self. Pete, Virginia, and Werner backed him up, Duran stayed out of it completely.

Pete told him, "Please calm down, I know I left the documents you're looking for in one of these rooms. We'll find them, after all we've got six months until we have to use the data to set him free. And we don't even know if he'd explode or not, the energy might just end up breaking the cylinder instead, if it does build up outside of his body. I know you're worrying about what'll happen, but there's no proof it'll be bad."

The men left, and Virginia looked up at the chamber. "Don't worry about what Malik said, I know that the others won't let you get hurt. Well, Melody and Leehalt probably won't, but it's still five to three as of what to do. Daddy, Pete, Elliot, and I won't let you get hurt, and Duran will not let any experiment be thrown out. So you're safe until your birth, and after that I'll protect you from those meanies. If they try to hurt you in any way, I'll beat them up just for you, kay?" She gave a small smile to the boy inside of the tube. Then, her eyes began to play tricks on her, for she was sure she saw Adam smile back at her.

* * *

When the door opened that night, as she was getting ready for bed, she thought it was Elliot here for another talk about what to do, or to complain some more about the lost documents. But that theory was thrown right out when she heard Leehalt's voice talking to her father, greeting him. Werner was skeptical, he had never known Leehalt to come into any one else's room for anything other than a yelling match. But the scientist started with all these pleasantries, that Virginia knew something had to be up with his enemy.

"I know we don't see eye to eye on this matter," Leehalt stated, "But you've got to talk some sense into Elliot, he's acting even weirder than usual. This 'Sample' project is getting to him, and I think he's been getting worse ever since his brat died. You must convince him to abandon the project, in order to save him from going crazy. Since he never listens to me, I guess I should as his best friend to do something about it. And, as much as I hate talking to you, hate your guts, hate everything about you, you are the only one."

"No way Leehalt, I believe we should let our creation be born. Like Elliot, I've grown quite fond of the boy, he will be the only one to save Filgaia. I believe the power that he has will be enough to bring back the greenery we are slowly losing, then it'll be like the days long before our birth. Virginia would love to play in the forests, if they were all like here at Yggdrasil. Besides, she'll be heartbroken if we try to or actually decide to kill him, the poor child is always teased back home because she is different than the other kids in town. I would never hurt her in any way, so my answer is a flat out no," Werner replied in an angry tone. He wondered how in the world that Leehalt could be so insensitive as to kill someone who never did him harm.

This made Leehalt's voice go up in volume, shaking walls. A picture of Werner, Ekatrina, and their daughter fell to the ground, the glass shattering all over the place, and Virginia grabbing a pillow to drown out the volume a little bit. He boomed, "Why do you even let that creature live, Werner? We've got all the data on him and his life, so why not destroy him? There's no need to see how he reacts to human society, it will do nothing to aid in our regeneration of Filgaia. All you want is to have a friend for your brat of a daughter."

Werner could hear the picture fall, knew that Leehalt was getting too worked up again. After all, it was a mutual decision of the council's to create Adam, so he had no way of destroying the boy without a joint consensus. Even Malik had wanted him created, just so he could study the process for his own little project in creating life, no doubt. And since the two had different reasons of why they wanted him killed, it would be virtually impossible to get a majority on either one. The man stood his ground, trying to debate. "He is a life, and we should not destroy him. Heck, even Malik, who would rather dissect him for study, is more concerned than you. You wouldn't even want to study him. He's not just another android, he'll be almost as human as you and I when done. Why can't you care about anyone besides yourself, Leehalt?"

"It's ironic you should say that, when you were the one who took the girl I loved from me," Leehalt stated, laughing a little, "You even set me up, Werner, so I would have to feel the bitter sting of rejection. And now you've left your mark by having a child together. If you hadn't betrayed me to get what you wanted, I would have someone to care about, Ekatrina, and probably a few children of my own. Remember that my heart is your own doing, and nothing you can do will ever change how I feel. Nobody can change the planet's past." With that, he left, slamming the door and sending more glass shattering all over the room.

'No wonder Mommy chose Daddy over him, she's such a nice and kind Mommy and he's just a mean old man. He was probably like this ever since before that happened, since Daddy said he was just as mean when he was a boy. But what should I do now, will I have to protect Adam from him? My magic can't be seen by other people, so how should I go about it? Hopefully, Daddy's ARM lessons will pay off.'

- - - -

****

Sky's Corner

Teefa sure gets a story and you run with it all the time. Now there's direct references to "Matchmaker Mayhem" in this one. Virginia's really sweet on Adam, I mean Jet, you sure can tell there's gonna be romance in the later stories. Then again, that's just Teefa. Oh why did I ever team up with her?


	10. Pyrotechnics

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Pyrotechnics

Evening: March 4, 2190 AI

The next day, everything seemed to get better. Werner had cleaned up the glass from Leehalt's angry fit, and managed to settle Virginia down after the incident. She had been upset over what the man had said about her friend, but relieved to know her father thought of Adam as a living, breathing, being with his own will, and not just something worth studying. Sure, he wanted to study the boy, obviously had plans to use his inborn powers for his plans, but he also knew how much his daughter would love to have a friend.

Leehalt wasn't talking to Werner, and Werner wasn't talking to Leehalt. Elliot told Virginia that this happened a lot, usually the jerk would break the silence by picking a fight over something work related in a few days, Leehalt couldn't stay silent for very long. But it would give the man a few blessed days of relief from having to take part in a frivolous argument. That was when Werner would be in the best of moods, and these instances actually coincide with the times he would come home so happy that he took the family out for dinner. Any time Ekatrina would ask why he was happy, he would say, " I had a very good day at work."

Pete had finally discovered the missing documents, they were in Duran's room. It turned out that the perverted scientist had left his porn magazine on Pete's desk when he came in to tell him about some dream he had where he and Beatrice were sitting on a beach, gazing at the sky together, when he was called away by a problem with the generator. Leaving his magazine behind, he ran off. Later, when he went back to pick up said reading materials, he accidentally took the file with him as well. Elliot apologized for going off on Pete, but the Baskar said he didn't mind. After all, he understood how worried Elliot was about the project, it meant more to him now that his son was gone. And it was reliving to know how Elliot thought.

The day seemed to go by very quickly, and soon night fell on them once more. Everyone was in a meeting, the planned one to discuss Yggdrasil's progress. Werner and Elliot were also going to bring up the notion of setting the birthing time of the Filgaia Sample back, so Virginia and him would be around the same age. Virginia knew that Leehalt and Malik would disagree, both having their own purposes, and that Melody would probably just not care. It would be on Pete and Duran to figure out what would be the best.

She went over to the specimen chamber when the meeting began, wanting to speak with her friend a little. This time, the girl felt as if he was staring at her, even though his eyes were shut. Suddenly, she heard a male voice in her mind, one she'd never heard before. *I know how much you worry about me, but you should be more worried about yourself. Even though I'm still not conscious, I can feel an enormous build up of energy from this plant. If it overloads, the two of us could be killed. This capsule can reduce my damage, it'll be the first line of defense, but you're an unguarded human being. Find shelter until the energy passes, do this for me. I feel your kind heart, you don't deserve death. Save yourself Virginia, just go.*

'Adam's speaking to me!' she thought, 'He's trying to protect me from something, but I don't know what it is. But I'm not afraid, I'll stay here with him. What could go wrong? After all, the generators were just fine when Uncle Duran checked them out yesterday. And no one can tamper with anything, they're all at the meeting. So there's no way there can be an accident. It is nice to know how much Adam cares.'

Just then, Duran came walking by with a file. Virginia wondered why he wasn't in the meeting. He didn't appear to notice the young girl sitting there, only took one look in the direction of the capsule that held the boy. Duran was extremely intrigued by the project, not for the reasons that Elliot had, but he was quite interested in the fact that they were able to create an artificial life form that resembled a human being so close, no one would know the difference. After all, out of the seven, Duran was the biggest science hound.

"Ziz iz going to be one long night. Leehalt iz trying to make an argument ve've already zettled. I zould finizh ziz project right away zen, by following ze advice Beatrice gave to me. Zankz to her, ve vill have a green Filgaia before ziz night iz through," he mumbled, walking past. He was heading for the generator room, and Virginia thought he'd gone crazy. But then she remembered he had an imaginary friend named Beatrice that he was always talking to. Probably giving her new life by accrediting her with his ideas now.

* * *

A tense hour passed, with Virginia hearing still more pleas from her friend to go to safety. But if there was some sort of impending disaster, she didn't want to make him face it all alone. The girl was not about to let the only friend she had die in a cold, dark, room with only the energy in his cylinder to keep him company. No! He would not die at all! She would prevent him from being killed with her magic, even if it ran the risk of her being discovered by one of the scientists. For this was her friend, and she'd never desert him in his time of need. After all, there was no way that Adam could defend himself inside of that large capsule.

Suddenly, she smelt something burning in the lab. Then and exploding sound could be heard from the direction of the generator room. Thinking that Duran had just miscalculated in his idea to fix up the system, and caused a minor shut down, Virginia didn't panic. But she heard Adams voice again, warning her to run now. To leave the Yggdrasil and hide in the forest until the problem passed. Urgency could be heard in his voice, he was genuinely worried about the girl. She stayed, not wanting to leave him alone.

Just then, another explosion rocked the laboratory, this one much closer. Some machines were blown out from behind them, and Virginia screamed. A flying piece of metal struck across her cheek, giving her a large gash. To her horror, a third explosion knocked the capsule off its base, spilling both the boy and the Panakea Fluid onto the ground. As the girl watched in horror, she suddenly saw another piece of metal flying from a machine, and it was heading right for Adam! He had no way to defend himself, he would die!

She quickly reacted to the situation, blocking the attack with her own body. The metal hit the girl right in the chest, imbedding itself inside of her. Virginia fell to the ground right next to her friend. It looked like it was all over for them, she was badly wounded and he had no way to finish his growth outside of the cylinder. Besides, if it was going on like this, the others in the council might be dead as well. Then, no one would be able to find them and rescue them. As blackness consumed her, Virginia whispered, 'At least I was able to die knowing I had a friend. You were with me up until the very end, Adam. Don't worry, I'm sure we'll see each other once again, in the world of the dead. Even if you weren't finished growing, you had a soul, so Ge Ramtos will take you too. Then, we'll be able to play together every day, never being apart again." With those words, the child fainted, unable to hear her name escape from the lips of the young boy.

- - - -

****

Teefa's Last Words…

Yup, typical Jet. Although he is much more open. I don't think he was born an antisocial punk, it just happened as he was living in the Wastelands. The past circumstances always affect the future attitude. There's only one more chapter left. Then, I can post the second story.


	11. Legacy

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Legacy

Evening: March 4, 2190 AI

The others in the council heard the explosions too. Realizing something must be wrong with Duran, they all panicked. Melody began lamenting about not being able to apply a last coat of blush for her corpse, while Malik whined about not being able to save his mother. Elliot worried for Adam and Pete worried for the planet's state. And Leehalt blamed the whole mess on Werner, just because he wanted to have an excuse to yell at his rival. Only Virginia's father was able to keep his cool throughout the disaster, he had a plan.

Over the last few days, he'd felt the energy was beginning to build up too much, and Duran seemed to be going insane over his imaginary friend. Knowing that his death was imminent, he had decided to make a backup copy of his memories in Hyadas. Everyone had one, just so they could tell the future generations what had went wrong with their experiments, so they would not be repeated. But Werner had taken it one step further, creating a device to make those memories come to life as a hologram that could take his place in the event of a disaster. Regretting there was nothing he could do for his comrades, daughter, and their experiment, Werner activated the device at the very second an explosion ripped through the meeting room.

The copy looked just like his former self, except he was wearing the travel clothing that Werner had on when he would leave home every day. He stood in the wreckage of the machinery that had brought him to life, in conjunction with the remote control. Looking around, the man hoped to find at least one survivor of the deadly accident, someone who could help him to atone for the mistakes that led up to this sad tragedy.

"Foolish human," a childish female voice said from behind, "You are trying the impossible by living on in this world. You'll never be able to atone for what you've done, now Filgaia has become even worse off than it was before Yggdrasil was turned on full blast. Watch what I'm about to show you." Werner looked ahead of him, seeing what appeared to be an image of the area around Boot Hill. The forests that had once been scattered over the land were gone, but at least there was still grass. Another scene was shown, this one of Little Rock. There, only scattered plants had survived the blast of Yggdrasil. But the worst was yet to come. As he looked out over what had once been a beautiful sea, now there only lay miles of dry sand.

He turned around to face the source of the voice. There stood a young girl, with yellow eyes and long purple hair. The child wore a black dress with a red shirt underneath, and red shoes. She looked to be no more than five, but he could tell differently. This was no child, this could only be the work of a Demon.

"Who are you?! And what are you doing here?! This is a private laboratory, no outside personnel are permitted in this place. So how did you get here, Demon child?!" he demanded. Werner then aimed one of his Duel Pistols at her, and fired. But the shot was ineffective, going right through her and into a wall.

The girl replied, "Well that's very rude of you. You should really not be so trigger happy all the time. My name is Beatrice, the Dream Demon. I live inside of the Information Library Hyadas, which is the only way I can exist in this world. I'm lonely, there's no one else to talk to. But, if I gather enough energy, I can create a new Filgaia for myself, a planet where Dream Demons can exist. Then, I will create more friends for me to play with. This energy is only the first step, it should have been the last. But that fool wasted it."

Werner steamed, this was the woman who Duran often spoke of. He'd been expecting more of an adult figure. But this girl had taken advantage of Duran's weakness to the female gender, and exploited him for her own use. Now, all his friends could be dead. He couldn't do anything, only watch as she faded out.

* * *

For the next ten minutes, Werner was calling for survivors throughout the facility. He'd found that it did no good, everyone had perished. And they didn't even leave bodies, the flames had burnt the bones so they were nothing but dust. The man clenched his fists, somehow, Beatrice would pay for what she did.

As he walked on, he arrived at the specimen chamber. Not looking where he was going, Werner bumped into some sort of clear barrier. He originally thought it was one of the cylinders, but then he saw they had all been blown apart. Looking ahead at the barrier, he saw it bore a greenish tint. Lying inside, he saw a miraculous sight. Both Virginia and Adam were laying there, still alive, albeit badly wounded. If he could heal them up, there would still be a chance of saving the lives of both of them. It looked like it would be time to take a trip to the Leyline Observatory, the only place he could resuscitate Adam's broken form.

Giving Virginia a Mega Berry was able to stop the bleeding, and buy him the time to get her to the machines that would save her life. Pulling Adam on his back, and holding Virginia in his arms, Werner took them to the Council Chambers. There, in the dust, lay the Teleport Orb that the original Werner Maxwell had dropped in his final moments. Using its power, he went to the other laboratory, and their only chance.

* * *

On the third floor, behind a hidden door in the wall, lay the place where they had started to gather the energy of Filgaia into a cylinder. Placing both Adam and Virginia in separate chambers, without any clothes on, so they would not be damaged, Werner started the machines. The sounds of Panakea Fluid being pumped into the capsules could be heard throughout the room. Soon he could see both of them had begun to breathe steadily, instead of shallow gasps. But it would take time, Virginia would be in a coma for a few years at least. And Adam, he wasn't even completed. It would be five more years with this archaic technology. Werner wouldn't even have to worry about it for awhile, he could relax for a little before going on his next mission. This would be even more sacred than his last, he would save Filgaia from Beatrice's evil.

Imputing the codes that would make the cylinders break open when they had revived the person that rested inside, Werner left the lab. He had to learn more about Dream Demons, so the first place would be the Mimir's Well. From there, he would search out a way to reverse Yggdrasil, to return Filgaia to what it was before the accident. Who knew, maybe there would be a way to revive it all together waiting out there.

As Werner walked onwards searching for that brighter tomorrow, Virginia dreamed. She thought about the outside world, the world she missed so much, and the time when she would see it again. She thought about her parents, aunt, and uncle, hoping to one day play with them again. But most of all, she thought about Adam, and how when they awoke they would finally be able to be the best of friends like in her dreams. It would be awhile, that's for sure, although the girl had no idea just how long she would sleep.

- - - -

****

Teefa's Last Words…

And that will set us up for the next installment. Be warned, it was inspired by listening to music. Took the format from listening to songs over and over while waiting for Graduation.


End file.
